How to Focus on God with an Overactive Imagination
By: Mission Team
It's hard to focus with an overactive imagination!
I wish that I could say that I am always focused on the task at hand, that I am always paying attention to what is important, etc. The truth of the matter is that 80% of the time, I am watching some sort of movie in my head and not truly being present even though it totally seems like I am. I have quite possibly the most overactive imagination in the world. Having an overactive imagination similar to mine means that it is going to be specifically hard to focus on God, especially during prayer. The question is, is it even possible to focus on God with an imagination that doesn't seem to stop moving? Well, my friends, I will tell you what has helped me to focus on God.
For a moment I am with you
When you are in prayer, and especially during a Holy Hour in Adoration, what I find to be the most helpful was from this prayer: For a moment I am with You, "Oh Lord Jesus Christ, this day is very busy. I am distracted and pulled in many directions. There are concerns, worries, and even fears. I am troubled about duties, failures, and things to do that are beyond me. I come to Your presence from the din of life, the noise of the street, from the pleas and demands of others. And You are here. For a moment I am with You by the Sea of Galilee, on the Mount of Beatitudes, looking at the serene water and the green hills. You say, 'Come to me, all you who are weary and fined life burdensome, and I will refresh you.' Your presence in the Eucharist reassures me that this is true.” (Fr. Benedict Groeschel, CFR). This prayer has helped me focus, because of the words like this: “For a moment I am with you at the Sea of Galilee...”. Just picture yourself at the Sea with Jesus standing right beside you, see Him standing there, and imagine Him speaking to you. Creating images in your head is something that people always do, and now what you should do is imagine being with Jesus and looking at the serene water, or the green hills. These images helped me so much to recenter my focus on God when I am in prayer.
Your G.A. will help a lot
What is especially helpful to keep the focus on God is to have a good relationship with your Guardian Angel. (That would be the G.A.) For me and all those with overactive imaginations, there is one mega bonus, believing and trusting in God and the spiritual world is super easy. You can imagine what your guardian angel is most likely saying and picturing what he is doing next to you. My guardian angel helps me keep focused by the number of times he pokes me. My mind is always somewhere else, but because I have a good relationship with my guardian angel, he can bring me back to reality, especially when I need to pay attention. So, my suggestion to you my friend, is to have a conversation with your guardian angel and ask him to help you focus.
A thing or two more
Now, for the last bit of my points that have helped me focus with an overactive imagination. To top it all off, what I do to get back into seeing God, is I simply have a conversation with Him. Now this is something a little too simple that most people already do. The thing is that with your imagination going everywhere doing the most simple thing will calm it down. It's also helpful to have a conversation with God as though speaking to a friend. God is our friend, and He loves to speak with us. So, what I suggest is next time you have a problem focusing on prayer, you should stop reciting prayers and instead strike up a conversation with God. Ask God how His day is, how His family is, anything! This will help you re-focus because of the fact that you are having to think about what you are saying so that you don’t say the wrong thing. Simple yet effective, is what I say. You don’t need to make it complicated when you are in prayer and make yourself say a million prayers that you have memorized or are in a prayer book, but you can just speak to God. This is still a form of prayer due to the fact that the definition of prayer is to speak to or earnestly ask. Ora is the Latin word for prayer, and it means to pray or speak. So talk to God like you would a friend, and trust me when I say that it will be much easier to focus on God. Welp, that's all folks, have a… Sorry, I got distracted and forgot what I was saying. Anyhoo, goodbye!
